tmbsgrl wrote: How many people in here celebrate Hanukkah? (Did i spell that right?) What is it exactly? I know it lasts for about 8 days. That is all i know about it. oh you light one candle a day i think. What happens on the 8th day? Sorry i am just curious.
Not I
Hanukkah?
Hanukkah?
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capt_buzzard
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Hanukkah?
Happy Hanakkah :-6 & Happy Christmas :-6 from Ireland to each and everyone of you.
PEACE IN OUR TIME. :-6
PEACE IN OUR TIME. :-6
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A Karenina
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Hanukkah?
Passover or Pesach is celebrated in spring. That is when the Angel of Death passed over the houses of faithful Jews who had sacrificial lamb's blood on their doorways during the bid for freedom from the Egyptians. Jesus was celebrating Passover when the Roman soldiers caught him in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Chanukah is the only Jewish holiday that celebrates a military victory. The Syrians had taken over Israel and they desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabee tribe became heros as they pushed the Syrians back - no small feat since the Syrians had war elephants, and were fierce fighters.
Anyway, the Temple had to be cleansed with specific rituals, and for an oil lamp to be burned continuously. They only had enough oil for one day, but they began the purification ritual anyway. Miraculously, the oil burned for 8 days. Chanukah means rededication.
Today, it is celebrated by having one candle set apart (usually by being taller or shorter than the other candles) from the other 8 candles. It is the shemesh or servant candle. It is used to light each candle over the eight day period to remember the miracle. On the first day, one candle is lit, on the second day two candles are lit, and so on. Small gifts are given to children on each of the 8 days. A game is played using the dreidel which has a letter on each side. The letters stand for A Great Miracle Happened There. Chocolate coins are used as prizes for the game.
Jewish holidays are fun and filled with ritual, symbolic meaning, etc.
They even have one where you build a "tent" from wood and coat it with flowers. You are supposed to camp outside in it with your whole family, during the fall. It's called Succot and is a celebration of the harvest.
The most sacred Jewish holiday is Yom Kippur. Jews believe that G-d writes their deeds in a Book of Life, and that the coming year they will be judged according to whatever is written in this book. They must fast, pray, and search out their own hearts so they can repent of any wrongdoings before the New Year, or Rosh Hashanah. They request forgiveness from G-d and from each other, and pray for the good of Israel.
It costs money to belong to a Jewish synagogue - upwards of $1500 a year per person, depending on the synagogue. Many families will pay that money each year just to join in the High Holy Days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, and never go to synagogue at any other time during the year. There is limited seating, so they limit it to those who are members. That's how important this holiday is to them.
Christians and all other religions are welcome at any any time of year except High Holy Days. They have excellent Bible studies on Saturday mornings (their Sabbath), and I highly recommend them to anyone with an interest in the Bible.
At any rate, with Rosh Hashanah - the New Year, a horn is blown to signal the end of Yom Kippur. Your time to repent is over, you will be rewarded according to whatever deeds remain written in the Book of Life, and then you repeat it all the following year.
When I was about 9 or 10, my mom married a Jewish man. So I went to church on Sunday and to synagogue on Saturday. The rabbi was so kind to me - a very confused frightened southern kid. The synagogue was the smallest one in the US, and still is according to the Jewish News. I send them a donation each year in remembrance and thanks for the rabbi who took so much time with me and patiently answered my questions...which mainly stemmed around, "Where is Jesus?" I never did figure out how Jesus fit into the whole scheme of things, but I will never forget that the rabbi honored my questions and I wasn't punished for asking.
Chanukah is the only Jewish holiday that celebrates a military victory. The Syrians had taken over Israel and they desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. The Maccabee tribe became heros as they pushed the Syrians back - no small feat since the Syrians had war elephants, and were fierce fighters.
Anyway, the Temple had to be cleansed with specific rituals, and for an oil lamp to be burned continuously. They only had enough oil for one day, but they began the purification ritual anyway. Miraculously, the oil burned for 8 days. Chanukah means rededication.
Today, it is celebrated by having one candle set apart (usually by being taller or shorter than the other candles) from the other 8 candles. It is the shemesh or servant candle. It is used to light each candle over the eight day period to remember the miracle. On the first day, one candle is lit, on the second day two candles are lit, and so on. Small gifts are given to children on each of the 8 days. A game is played using the dreidel which has a letter on each side. The letters stand for A Great Miracle Happened There. Chocolate coins are used as prizes for the game.
Jewish holidays are fun and filled with ritual, symbolic meaning, etc.
They even have one where you build a "tent" from wood and coat it with flowers. You are supposed to camp outside in it with your whole family, during the fall. It's called Succot and is a celebration of the harvest.The most sacred Jewish holiday is Yom Kippur. Jews believe that G-d writes their deeds in a Book of Life, and that the coming year they will be judged according to whatever is written in this book. They must fast, pray, and search out their own hearts so they can repent of any wrongdoings before the New Year, or Rosh Hashanah. They request forgiveness from G-d and from each other, and pray for the good of Israel.
It costs money to belong to a Jewish synagogue - upwards of $1500 a year per person, depending on the synagogue. Many families will pay that money each year just to join in the High Holy Days of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, and never go to synagogue at any other time during the year. There is limited seating, so they limit it to those who are members. That's how important this holiday is to them.
Christians and all other religions are welcome at any any time of year except High Holy Days. They have excellent Bible studies on Saturday mornings (their Sabbath), and I highly recommend them to anyone with an interest in the Bible.
At any rate, with Rosh Hashanah - the New Year, a horn is blown to signal the end of Yom Kippur. Your time to repent is over, you will be rewarded according to whatever deeds remain written in the Book of Life, and then you repeat it all the following year.
When I was about 9 or 10, my mom married a Jewish man. So I went to church on Sunday and to synagogue on Saturday. The rabbi was so kind to me - a very confused frightened southern kid. The synagogue was the smallest one in the US, and still is according to the Jewish News. I send them a donation each year in remembrance and thanks for the rabbi who took so much time with me and patiently answered my questions...which mainly stemmed around, "Where is Jesus?" I never did figure out how Jesus fit into the whole scheme of things, but I will never forget that the rabbi honored my questions and I wasn't punished for asking.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle
Aristotle